LINGUIST List 13.1902

Thu Jul 11 2002

Calls: Lexical Markers of Common Grounds

Editor for this issue: Renee Galvis <reneelinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Kerstin Fischer, CfP: Lexical Markers of Common Grounds

Dear Colleagues,

In line with the conference theme "Linguistic pluralism: Policies,
practices and pragmatics" to be held at the 8th International
Pragmatics Conference in Toronto, Canada, 13-18 July 2003, we would
like to invite contributions to a panel on

LEXICAL MARKERS OF COMMON GROUNDS

Common ground is central to any theory of pragmatics,
sociolinguistics, discourse and context. Yet, common ground is a
multifaceted, heterogeneous category. In monological theories of
context, common ground is seen as consisting of true propositions
only, and the term is frequently used synonymously with the notions of
background assumptions, presuppositions and different types of
context. Also in the fields of pragmatics and context, a
product-oriented conception of common ground prevails, to which true
propositions are added. In the fields of sociolinguistics and
discourse analysis, a process-oriented approach to common ground is
preferred according to which common ground is negotiated and
reconstructed by the coparticipants in interaction. Thus, some of
these aspects, such as solidarity, power, ethnicity and gender, have
long been acknowledged as not given, but as jointly constructed in the
interaction by the employment of particular lexical markers and social
practices. To bridge the gap between a conception of common ground as
either process or product, the notion of conversational record
(Thomason 1992), and the differentiation between personal and cultural
common ground (Clark 1996), as well as a default-context notion and a
context-dependent notion of a dialogue common ground (Fetzer 2002) are
of relevance.

A dynamic conception of common grounds requires the permanent
negotiation of the common situation. For this reason, coparticipants
display to each other - and to their possible audiences - what they
consider to be the common ground of the interaction. One such
mechanism consists of the use of particular lexical markers that serve
the speakers as presentations of what they assume to be common
ground. The functional category lexical marker subsumes various types
of pragmatic markers, including inference triggers and illocutionary
force indicating devices. Lexical markers express relational meanings
which are calculated with regard to the marker's connectedness with
the proposition, the force of the utterance and the local and global
contexts.

The goal of this panel on Lexical Markers of Common Grounds is to
encourage interdisciplinary discussion on these two primarily
sociopragmatic notions in order to further our understanding of the
complex processes involved in producing and interpreting lexical
markers and of their relevance and function in administering common
grounds. We invite contributions that address the nature of these
lexical cues as well as the mechanisms by means of which they fulfil
their function to interactively negotiate aspects of common grounds.

If you would like to contribute to this panel, please send an abstract
of about 500 words by September 15, 2002 to either:


Anita Fetzer Kerstin Fischer
University of Stuttgart University of Bremen - Fachbereich 10
Institute of Linguistics: Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaften
English Linguistics Postfach 330440
Keplerstr. 17 D-28334 Bremen
D-70174 Stuttgart Germany
Germany
tel: +49 711 121-3120/3115 tel: +49 40 42883-2516
fax: +49 711 121-3122 fax: +49 40 42883 2515
anitaifla.uni-stuttgart.de kerstinfuni-bremen.de

 http://www.fb10.uni-bremen.de/anglistik/homepages/fischer.htm
 http://ifla.uni-stuttgart.de/fetzer/index.html


For details on conference arrangements, see the IPrA website at
<http://www.uia.ac.be/ipra/>;. NOTE: IPrA membership will be required
for all accepted presenters.